A: The most impactful session I attended was Turning Academic Studies into Community & Life Projects, led by facilitators from Monmouth College and Western Illinois University. This session focused on re-imagining the academic classroom and integrating pedagogy with place to take full advantage of assets uniquely available to rural regions. The facilitators provided a strong foundation in learning theory, including Bloom’s Taxonomy of Affective Learning, to explore how schools can embrace the “wildness of children” beyond the four walls of the classroom to ignite their curiosity and playfulness for learning.

K: Considering my West Virginia roots, and The EdVenture Group’s focus and commitment on Appalachia, I found the Anecdotes from Appalachia: Principals’ Perspectives on Key Performance Indicators for Improvement session very informative and impactful. The session was facilitated by Dr. Krista Mann, with The University of the Cumberlands, and focused on her recent dissertation. The session reviewed reactions, data, emotional responses and action plans of principals who had recently faced state designations for improvement in their schools. Learning about the deep-rooted grief and personal impact on principals facing these designations was eye opening and impactful as a reminder of connection and commitment that exists in to communities and schools.

M: As a former Middle School and High School English/Language Arts teacher, the session, “There Aren’t Books About People Like Me: Rural Literacy Representation” at the National Forum to Advance Rural Education was especially interesting and impactful! In this session, presenters Dr. Amy Price Azano and Dr. Rachelle Kuehl of Virginia Tech University shared their rural literacy project from the Appalachian Rural Talent Initiative with session attendees. Representation in classroom literature is very important for rural, suburban, and urban students; however, few examples of rural lived experience are often found in classroom curriculum. A wide variety of books at varying grade levels were shared throughout this presentation offering a range of rural perspectives for rural students to connect with in their reading and learning.